UC Irvine men's basketball team to have 17 home games

Alex Young is one of UC Irvine's leading returning players this season. FILE PHOTO MICHAEL GOULDING, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

UC Irvine's men's basketball team looks to continue last season's late run as the Anteaters take on an ambitious schedule in 2013-14.

Fourth-year head coach Russell Turner's squad won nine of its final 12 games last season when the Anteaters finished with a 21-16 overall record and played in the championship game of the Big West Conference Tournament. The 21 victories tied for third-most in the 48-year history of the program.

UCI made its first post season appearance in 11 years as the Anteaters competed in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament (CIT), defeating High Point in the first round before falling at Oral Roberts in the second round.

Seventeen home dates are featured on the Anteaters' 2013-14 schedule. UCI was 9-0 in Big West games at the Bren Center last season and 13-1 overall in home contests.

UCI, after hosting Chapman University in an exhibition game Nov. 2, opens the regular season facing Fresno State in the Bren Center Nov. 8. The Bulldogs will be making their first trip to the Bren since 1992 when Fresno State was in its final season as a Big West member.

The Anteaters host the Irvine Subregional of the 2K Sports Classic benefiting Wounded Warrior Project Nov. 22-24. UCI will be joined by three other NCAA Division I teams in the event that will include two games each day, as each team will play three games in three days. The field for the tournament will be announced later this summer.

Pepperdine makes its first appearance in the Bren Center in four years Dec. 7 while Morgan State and UCI meet for the first time in history Jan. 2 at the Bren. Morgan State is a member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and the Bears reached the championship game of the MEAC Tournament last season.

The Anteaters also have non-conference home games against Pacifica (Nov. 17) and San Diego Christian (Jan. 4).

UCI opens Big West Conference play Jan. 9 at Long Beach State. The first league home game for the Anteaters is Jan. 16 vs. Cal State Fullerton. The Homecoming game is Jan. 25 against Hawaii.

College Sports Madness, in its season preview, has tabbed the Anteaters to win the Big West title this season.

A challenging road schedule awaits UCI as the Anteaters will face no less than three Pac-12 teams, traveling to California Dec. 2, Oregon Dec. 17 and Arizona State Dec. 28.

The Golden Bears reached the NCAA Tournament third round last season, Oregon lost to eventual national champion Louisville in the Sweet 16 and Arizona State advanced to the NIT second round.

UCI travels to former Big West member Pacific Nov. 12 as the Anteaters and Tigers have a rematch of last March's Big West Tournament final. Pacific is now a member of the West Coast Conference.

A 2K Sports Classic Regional road game awaits UCI Nov. 14 as the opponent will be announced at a later date.

The Anteaters also have non-conference road games against Sacramento State Nov. 30, Eastern Washington Dec. 15 and Denver Dec. 21 as UCI and the Pioneers will meet for the initial time.

The Big West Tournament is Mar. 13-15 at the Honda Center in Anaheim.

Junior post player Will Davis II is the leading returning scorer for UCI after averaging 9.7 points last season. He topped the Anteaters in rebounding with a 6.8 average and he broke his own single-season record with 88 blocked shots. Davis earned the Big West's "Best Defensive Player" Award and he was named to the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Defensive All-America team.

Sophomore point guard Alex Young broke the UCI freshman single-season record with 144 assists and he was named Big West co-Freshman of the Year. He averaged 9.2 points and was selected to the Mid-Major Freshman All-America team. Young's assist/turnover ratio of 2.62 ranked 16th in the nation last season.

Davis and Young were named to the All-Big West Tournament team after helping lead the Anteaters to the championship game for the fourth time in school history. UCI competed in the CollegeInsider.com (CIT) Tournament, defeating High Point in the first round before falling at Oral Roberts in the second round.

The victory over High Point was UCI's first post season win in 27 years.

Chris McNealy, a 6-4 guard, is the Anteaters' lone senior in 2013-14. He averaged 9.2 points and 4.2 rebounds last season when he was named to the all-tournament team at the Huntsville Legends Classic Subregional.

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